Network Data and Its Uses

John R. Ladd

14 May 2024

What is a network?

A Network is made up of…

  • Entities: node, vertex, actor
  • Relationships: edge, link, tie
  • In the humanities, we most often say nodes and edges

Where did network analysis come from?

Image credit: Ahnert et al., The Network Turn Chapter 4
Mark Lombardi, BCCI-ICIC & FAB, 1972-91 (4th version)

What can we learn from networks?

Cross-disciplinary formations

  • Social Networks
  • Biological Networks
  • Information Networks
  • Technological Networks

Scale-free networks and the small world

Types of humanities network projects

  • Visualization
  • Statistics and Computation
  • Conceptual and Theoretical

Why turn to networks?

  • Community structure
  • Behavior
  • Transmission of Information

Network Data

Edge Table
Node Table
Image credit: geeksforgeeks.com
Adjacency List
Custom formats: .gml, .graphml, JSON, GEXF, Pajek

What We’ll Explore Together

  • Collect and understand network data
  • Visualize data with multiple tools
  • Basic coding with networks

Your Task for Today

https://jrladd.com/networks/creating